As the sole Klingon in a small farm culture, Worf had some difficulty adapting to his new circumstances, though; years later, Helena described her son as bright and highly spirited as a boy. Soon after his arrival on Gault, the seven year-old bloodied the noses of five teenage boys, whom Worf deemed "disrespectful". In 2353, at thirteen years of age, Worf led his school's soccer team to the championships, where, in an attempt to score, he collided with another player, Mikel. The impact of Klingon ridges against a Human skull snapped Mikel's neck, and the boy died the next day. This lesson in Human frailties made a huge impact on Worf's nascent character. His self-control, interpreted by some as part of his Klingon heritage, was a large factor in his serious demeanor. (TNG: "Family", "New Ground"; DS9: "Let He Who Is Without Sin...")

The Rozhenko family eventually moved to Earth, where Sergey frequently took Nikolai and Worf camping in the Ural Mountains. At night, Worf often listened raptly to the sound of wolves howling in the distance. (DS9: "Change of Heart")

After Worf returned to Earth, he pondered the meaning of his words and wondered what lay ahead. When he grew old enough, he joined Starfleet, the first Klingon to ever do so. For a time, Worf believed he had fulfilled his destiny this way, though he later wondered if there was not something else yet after recovering the Sword of Kahless in 2372. (DS9: "The Sword of Kahless")

Ronald D. Moore recalled that the prophecy could indeed be interpreted as him being the first Klingon in Starfleet. (AOL chat,1998) A line in the script of "Rightful Heir" that was not present in the final episode had Worf suggest this interpretation to the clone of Kahless. [1]

During these years of service, Worf's record was marred by a single reprimand, earned when he killed Duras in an honor duel after the latter had Worf's mate, K'Ehleyr, killed. Killing Duras directly affected the ascension of a new Klingon Chancellor after the death of K'mpec. (TNG: "Reunion")

Worf played a significant role in repelling the Borg invasion of the Federation in 2366. When the Enterprise-D engaged the Borg cube, he was unable to prevent the abduction of Picard when drones appeared on the bridge. On Riker's orders, Worf and Data boarded the cube, and were able to retrieve Picard, allowing Dr.Crusher to restore their captain's Humanity. It was one of the most dangerous missions of Worf's career, but six years later, he likened the exploits of his companions to the sagas of ancient warriors. (TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds", "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II"; DS9: "The Way of the Warrior")

Regardless of his optimism, in 2368, Worf was wary enough of a wounded and isolated Borg drone that he recommended killing it on sight, but his words went unheeded. The decision to rehabilitate the drone and return him to the collective nearly proved disastrous. (TNG: "I Borg", "Descent")

Like so many who have encountered the trickster, Worf immediately developed a strong antipathy towards Q.

In his visits, Q frequently took pleasure in teasing Worf, who Q referred to as "micro brain." When Q forced the Enterprise-D crew to play out a detailed Robin Hood fantasy scenario, Worf found himself portraying the character Will Scarlet.

"I am not a merry man!"

When stripped of his powers from the Q Continuum, Q desperately asked how he could prove to the Enterprise-D crew that he was, indeed, mortal. Worf helpfully suggested, "Die," much to the amusement of others present on the bridge. (TNG: "Hide and Q", "Qpid", "Deja Q")

Worf's exposure to Klingon society began in earnest, in his time aboard the Enterprise-D. In a few short years, the forgotten orphan from the House of Mogh was a player in the highest levels of the Empire's politics.

In 2364, the Enterprise-D rescued three Klingons from a disabled cargo ship, and for the first time in nearly ten years, Worf spent time in the company of (renegade) Klingon warriors. One of the rescued was mortally wounded, and Worf joined in the Klingon death ritual for Kunivas, exposing non-Klingons to the event for the first time. The charismatic Korris tried to enlist Worf in taking the starship, but could not budge the officer's loyalty. In addition, Commander K'Nera also offered Worf a place in the Klingon Defense Forces, but was politely declined. (TNG: "Heart of Glory")

A year later, Chancellor K'mpec was dying, and he asked Picard to serve as the Arbiter of Succession. The event coincided with Worf's reunion with K'Ehleyr, an iconoclastic ambassador and Worf's former lover. K'Ehleyr took this opportunity to introduce their child, Alexander, to Worf. (see Family: K'Ehleyr and Alexander).

The Sonchi ceremony over the body of K'mpec was interrupted by an attempt to assassinate Gowron. The contenders were offended by the dishonored Worf presenting the result of the Enterprise-D's investigation, but Worf revealed evidence that implicated Duras. Concurrently, K'Ehleyr discovered the truth of Worf's discommendation as well as the scope of the House of Duras' treachery, but Duras confronted and murdered her. The question of succession was ultimately decided by Worf. Exercising his Right of Vengeance, he challenged Duras to a duel, defeating and killing him. The death of Duras allowed Gowron to become the new chancellor. (TNG: "Reunion")

Worf accepted a commission as a Klingon imperial officer

The civil war K'mpec had feared broke out in late 2367, when the House of Duras and allies rebelled against Chancellor Gowron's leadership by attacking Gowron's ship, the IKS Bortas. Worf felt it was his place to help his people, and resigned from Starfleet to side with Gowron. His influence proved instrumental in the war when he ordered Kurn to back Gowron. Worf served on Kurn's ship during the civil war, and fought at the Battle of Mempa, but soon found himself dissatisfied with the impulsive manner of Klingon society when off-duty, such as Kurn's association with officers who served the Duras family, despite the hostilities currently occurring between them. With help from Starfleet, the Romulan involvement was discovered, effectively ending it, enabling Gowron's forces to quickly end the war, and solidifying his position as chancellor. In appreciation for Worf's help, Chancellor Gowron restored honor to the House of Mogh, allocated Worf's brother, Kurn, a seat on the Klingon High Council, and gave Worf the life of Duras' illegitimate son, Toral. Worf, unwilling to kill an innocent boy, and recognizing that Toral was mainly a pawn of his aunts' rather than a villain in himself, let Toral go and returned to Starfleet without incident. (TNG: "Redemption", "Redemption II")

In 2369, while the Enterprise was docked at Deep Space 9, Worf was met by a Yridian named Jaglom Shrek. Shrek told Worf that Mogh may not have died at Khitomer after all and that he might have still been alive, living with Romulans in a remote prison camp. Although initially uncomfortable about the possible dishonor that his family would face if Mogh had really been alive all this time, a conversation with Data about a recent 'vision' he had had about his creator forced Worf to recognize that his own father was an important part of who he was, prompting him to meet Shrek and make the Yridian take him to the Carraya sector, where the prison camp was located.

On the surface of Carraya IV, Worf found L'Kor, now an old man. L'Kor informed Worf that his father had died at Khitomer, though a number of prisoners had been taken to this camp. Worf attempted to free the prisoners, but instead was taken captive. Inside the main prison camp, Worf found Klingons and Romulans living together in harmony – in their isolation, the Klingons had abandoned Klingon concepts of honor and had forgotten their warrior ways. The Klingon elders laughed in disbelief at Worf's assertion that Klingons were allies with the Federation, but the younger people were fascinated by his ways and his stories of Kahless. Despite attempts by Gi'ral to stop her daughter Ba'el's advances, the girl agreed to escape with Worf. However, when Worf found that Tokath, the Romulan leader of the camp, was Ba'el's father, he confronted Gi'ral about why she married a Romulan. Worf continued his influence on the camp's youth, and taught hunting to Toq. After catching an animal, they delivered it to the main hall as a feast. Tokath was horrified at the sight. Realizing that Worf would eventually sway the opinion of the other youths in the camp as he had Toq, Tokath sentenced Worf to death. However, Worf had exerted enough influence on the camp, and several members of the camp stood by Worf, willing to face execution rather than continue to live the way they had. Tokath was forced to let Worf return to the Enterprise. Worf though recognized the rare peace that had been established at the camp, and explained to the young people that wanted to leave that they must keep the camp and their parents a secret in order to honor them. (TNG: "Birthright, Part I", "Birthright, Part II")

Although a profound influence on the settlers of Carraya IV, Worf's visit also forced him to challenge his beliefs, feeling that his own faith in the legends he told the children was lacking compared to their own. To renew his faith, Worf decided to visit the Caves of Boreth, and re-summon Kahless the Unforgettable. Kahless appeared before him for real – seemingly returned to lead the Empire once more. However, Worf was skeptical of the Klingon's authenticity, even as he admitted that he wanted to believe in Kahless' divinity. Gowron claimed that Kahless could not recall any of his legendary stories and challenged him in combat, which Kahless lost. The loss forced the clerics to reveal that this Kahless was a clone, leaving Worf strongly affected by the questions and doubts raised by the issue, before a conversation with Data prompted him to consider that it was possible to believe that something was more than its origins. Despite the discovery, Worf was instrumental in arranging that the clone was installed as emperor to the Klingon people. The ceremonial position had not been held for centuries but Worf felt that the Klingon Empire had lost its way since Kahless' original teachings, and that the new emperor could bring further stability. Before the clone departed, Kahless consoled Worf's doubts by reflecting that the important thing was that all Klingons remember the teachings and message of the original Kahless, and as long as they remained true to those, it did not truly matter whether or not the original Kahless returned. (TNG: "Rightful Heir")

Worf's first major task was to take command of the Enterprise-D saucer module and lead it to safety, when the ship separated prior to engaging Q for the first time. The order ran contrary to his nature (i.e. fleeing while his commanding officer was in danger) and Worf briefly objected until Picard reminded him of his duty. (TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint", "All Good Things...")

Both Picard and Riker independently had Worf in mind as their top choice for the ops position when Data was presumed dead. Worf noted to Deanna that he had served in this capacity before. (TNG: "The Most Toys")

At one point, the Enterprise was caught in an energy field which propelled the ship away from an M-class planet inhabited by the xenophobicPaxans. The energy field was designed to erase the memories of the crew. However, Worf's surgically-mended arm proved that something had happened at the Paxan homeworld, and that someone had deliberately erased their memories of the event. To appease the Paxans, the crew agreed to have their memories erased again, only this time, no clues were to be left. (TNG: "Clues")

When Kieran MacDuff altered the memories of the crew and the computer (including Data's) with a plasmaenergy beam, Worf temporarily took command of the Enterprise, because his sash gave the crew the mistaken impression that he was the highest-ranking officer. After he learned his true rank, he apologized to Picard for his assumption of authority, but Picard assured him that no blame was necessary, as they were all making the best they could of a difficult situation. (TNG: "Conundrum")

In 2368, when the Enterprise was disabled by quantum filaments, Worf was entrusted with a makeshift infirmary in Ten Forward. During the incident, Keiko O'Brien went into labor, and Worf had to assist with her giving birth to Molly O'Brien. He remembered the incident for years, and bristled when he found out she was pregnant again, while they both were on Deep Space 9, determining to make sure he was on leave when she gave birth so he wouldn't be in a position to have to assist again. (TNG: "Disaster"; DS9: "Accession")

Later that year, Worf, along with the rest of the Enterprise crew, conducted a mission to aid a stranded Romulan Warbird. Creatures existing outside of the normal space-time continuum had assumed Romulan form and had used the Warbird's warp chamber as a gestation chamber for their offspring. Commander Riker ordered a power transfer beam engaged, to recharge the Romulan ship disturbing the creatures. This caused time on both ships to stop, locking each crew in temporal stasis. Worf had been in the transporter room, to lead the rescue effort bringing injured Romulans to the Enterprise. Captain Picard as well as Lieutenant Commanders Data, La Forge and Counselor Troi were on their way back to the ship. When Picard went to the transporter room to examine the control panel, he found Worf at the controls and politely said, "Excuse me, Mr. Worf," even though the Klingon could not respond. (TNG: "Timescape")

"We were like warriors from the ancient sagas. There was nothing we could not do." - Worf

On stardate 47391.2, Worf began moving between many different alternative realities after flying through a quantum fissure in the shuttlecraft Curie. He experienced several unexplained discontinuities in events against his memory (particularly regarding his attendance and victory at a bat'leth tournament on Forcas III), and it was eventually discovered that Worf was not native to the universe he was currently in – a universe where the Federation was at war with the Bajorans, where he was a commander and first officer of the Enterprise-D and married to Deanna Troi, with whom he had two children. He was eventually returned to his original reality, apparently the only person to retain any memory of his journey. (TNG: "Parallels")

Worf surviving the destruction of the Enterprise

Following Worf's promotion to lieutenant commander in 2371, he was instrumental in a battle that ensued after the Duras sisters attacked the Enterprise. He firstly remembered a critical flaw that had caused their class of Bird-of-Prey to be retired and, when Data then made use of this flaw to remotely cause the vessel to cloak, Worf destroyed the Bird-of-Prey with a single torpedo hit. Unfortunately, due to damage sustained in the battle, the Enterprisestardrive section was destroyed, with the separated saucer section crashing on Veridian III, damaged beyond repair. (Star Trek Generations)

While awaiting reassignment following the destruction of the Enterprise, Worf took an extended leave of absence from Starfleet to evaluate his future. He returned his son to Earth to live with the Rozhenkos while he himself took refuge on Boreth. (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior")

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Federation, Captain Benjamin Sisko and the crew of Deep Space 9 were having trouble keeping order with the Klingons present at the station. When the treaty with the Klingon Empire was threatened during the Klingons' invasion of Cardassia in 2372, Sisko stated, "Curzon told me once that in the long run, the only people who can really handle Klingons are Klingons." It was at this time he requested Worf's help.

Worf again became a player in galactic politics as the Federation tried to avert war between the Klingon Empire and the Cardassian Union. Worf was the Federation's best link to Chancellor Gowron and a meeting between them was arranged. He was asked to resign from Starfleet and join Gowron on the Klingon campaign to invade Cardassia. Worf felt the war was wrong and that it was incompatible with his loyalties to the Federation. As a result, Gowron threatened to strip Worf and his family of their honor, confiscate their lands, and treat them as traitors to the Klingon Empire. When Worf again refused, Gowron made good on his threat.

Worf clashes with Odo over the security on DS9

The Klingons failed to bring down the Cardassian government with the Federation protecting them and an enraged Gowron withdrew from the Khitomer Accords, making the Klingons an enemy of the Federation. Following the mission, Worf considered resigning from Starfleet to take a berth on a Nyberrite Alliance cruiser. After learning this, Sisko, reflecting to Worf that he had also considered leaving Starfleet after his wife's death, suggested that Worf was just trying to escape the memory of the Enterprise's loss rather than Starfleet itself. Sisko then offered Worf a position as the strategic operations officer, which Worf humbly accepted, making his primary duty to co-ordinate all Starfleet activity within the Bajoran sector, not to handle security matters on Deep Space 9, which was Odo's responsibility. This new assignment had Worf once again wearing command division red. (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior", "Hippocratic Oath")

Whenever Sisko was not commanding the USS Defiant, Worf got a chance to demonstrate his command expertise. One of the first missions he commanded was a science mission headed by Lenara Kahn. A Trill science team was attempting to create Starfleet's first artificially-created stable wormhole. Worf found it hard to be excited about a science mission, claiming that his dreams were more exciting. (DS9: "Rejoined")

While beside a gas giant in the Gamma Quadrant, where the Defiant was escorting Quark to continue negotiations with the Karemma, the Jem'Hadar opened fire on the Karemma starship and the Defiant as punishment for their treason. Captain Sisko was severely injured in the incident, leaving Worf in command. Taking command in engineering (the bridge had been damaged by Jem'Hadar fire), Worf found many engineers (especially Muniz and Stevens) unaccustomed to his authoritarian style of command. After receiving advice from Chief O'Brien, Worf undertook a more interactive approach. Better able to work under this style of command, Muñiz and Stevens were able to devise a way to destroy the Jem'Hadar attack ship. By modifying the main deflector, the Defiant successfully defeated the Jem'Hadar. (DS9: "Starship Down")

On a subsequent occasion, Worf commanded the Defiant on a mission to escort Cardassian freighters across a volatile sector of Klingon space. After being fired upon by Klingon warships using a tactic of continually decloaking to fire and then recloaking, a Klingon ship decloaked directly ahead of the Defiant and Worf ordered it destroyed. However, this ship was a Klingon civilian transport ship. The Klingon AdvocateCh'Pok demanded that Worf be extradited to the Klingon Empire for punishment.

The Federation decided to stage an extradition hearing with AdmiralT'Lara as chair, Sisko as defense, and Ch'Pok as prosecution. Had it not been for Odo's discovery that there were no civilians on the destroyed ship, Worf would have been extradited to the Klingon Empire to face execution. After the court martial, which the defense won, Worf remarked about the difficulty of command. Sisko replied, "Wait until you get four pips on your collar. You'll wish you had gone into botany." (DS9: "Rules of Engagement")

Following a year of hostilities and border skirmishes between the Federation and Klingons (see Federation-Klingon War), Odo discovered that Gowron might have been replaced by a Changeling. In order to establish whether Gowron was a shapeshifter, Starfleet Command ordered Sisko to lead a team (which included Worf) to expose Gowron as a shapeshifter. The team posed as Klingon warriors being inducted into the Order of the Bat'leth. Each team member was to plant polaron emitters that, when activated, would force a shapeshifter to lose its shape. Worf initially found it difficult to turn the team into convincing Klingons. However, Sisko helped him refocus, and with practice, the team pulled through. The plan worked out relatively well at first, but just when Sisko was ready to activate the polaron emitters, Martok, chief military adviser and overseer of the Cardassian invasion, recognized Sisko through his Klingon disguise, and the entire team was thrown into prison. While incarcerated, the team managed to explain their mission to Martok. It turned out that Martok had always suspected that Gowron may have been a Changeling, but he was waiting for the right time to expose him. With the polaron emitters destroyed, Worf decided that the only way to expose Gowron as a shapeshifter was to get him to spill blood. Once released by Martok, Worf fought Gowron in a duel. Gowron's Klingon honor and behavior led Odo to find it was not Gowron, but Martok who was the Dominion Changeling agent. After he was destroyed by the Klingon warriors, it was discovered that his mission was to destabilize relations between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. Worf's assistance in uncovering the Dominion presence as the common enemy incidentally helped to restore peace between the Federation and Klingon Empire. (DS9: "Broken Link", "Apocalypse Rising")

Some months later, the Defiant was tasked with a mission of sending the BajoranOrb of Time back to the station. However, Defiant passenger Arne Darvin had other ideas; he used the Orb to travel back to 2268, to the time of Captain Kirk and the first USS Enterprise, and to the year that the tribbles had invaded Klingon space. Darvin's plot was to kill Captain Kirk and eliminate the tribbles before they had a chance to invade Klingon space. While searching for Darvin, Worf (along with Odo, Bashir, and O'Brien) encountered Klingons scarred by the augment virus of the 22nd century. When Bashir and O'Brien asked how the augmented people could be Klingons, Worf merely responded, "We do not discuss it with outsiders." The crew apprehended Darvin on Deep Space Station K-7, and returned to the present. (TOS: "The Trouble with Tribbles"; DS9: "Trials and Tribble-ations")

In 2373, Elim Garak received an encoded transmission from his mentor, Enabran Tain. It stated that he had survived the Battle of the Omarion Nebula and was being held by the Dominion in the Gamma Quadrant. Garak convinced Sisko that he could enter Dominion space but only under supervision from Worf. In order to avoid detection while in Dominion space, Worf decided to hide in a nearby nebula. The diversion proved to be a bad idea, as that nebula housed the first Dominion invasion fleet, on its way to invading the Alpha Quadrant. Worf knew that they were planning to enter the wormhole, and that the Dominion War was about to begin. Before they were captured by the fleet, Worf managed to transmit a message to the wormhole relay station about the impending invasion. (DS9: "In Purgatory's Shadow")

Worf and Martok in the Dominion internment camp

Worf and Garak were taken to Internment Camp 371, where they discovered Enabran Tain, the real GeneralMartok, and surprisingly, the real Julian Bashir. Bashir had been captured for a month and had been replaced by a Changeling infiltrator. All the prisoners knew they had to escape, to warn DS9 about the Changeling. Although Tain died at the camp shortly thereafter, Garak devised a plan to modify Tain's transmitter to contact the runabout in orbit and escape from the internment camp. The transmitter was tucked away in a cramped compartment, and Garak had to overcome his acute claustrophobia to complete the modifications. Worf and Martok commended Garak's courage, stating, "There is no greater enemy than one's own fears." During this time, to distract the Jem'Hadar guards, Worf entered into combat with each of the Jem'Hadar guards in turn, earning the respect and admiration of General Martok in the process, even winning the respect of Jem'Hadar First Ikat'ika, who yielded their final fate when he recognized that Worf's refusal to surrender meant that killing Worf would not be a victory. Once the prisoners escaped, they managed to warn DS9 that Bashir had been replaced by a Changeling. Kira managed to destroy the Bashir Changeling before he could blow up the Bajoran sun. (DS9: "By Inferno's Light")

From then on to the end of the year, the Dominion sent weekly fleets through the wormhole to fortify the Cardassian sectors. Starfleet, needing to find a way to halt the buildup, decided to block the entrance to the wormhole with a minefield. Sisko assigned the Defiant under the command of Jadzia Dax to deploy a field of self-replicating mines, all of which needed to be deployed before any could be activated. Starfleet forces were unable to assist in the deployment, so the Defiant and the IKS Rotarran had to do it alone, and they only had one day to finish. Weyoun approached the station with three hundred Dominion and Cardassian ships, and when Sisko refused their ultimatum, GulDukat opened fire, starting the Second Battle of Deep Space 9 and the Dominion War. While the Dominion's firepower proved ineffective against the station's shields, Worf, in command of the station's weapons array, managed to destroy fifty ships, and the Rotarran helped protect the Defiant, so it could complete the minefield. With the minefield deployed and the station vastly outnumbered, Sisko ordered all Starfleet crew members to evacuate the station. Due to the conquest of DS9 by the Dominion, Worf had been assigned to the Rotarran as first officer. (DS9: "Call to Arms")

Unlike the rest of Starfleet, First Officer Worf, ever the warrior, relished the opportunity to engage in combat with the Dominion. A joint operation where the Defiant played a decoy to three Jem'Hadar attack ships allowed the Rotarran to decloak and help destroy those ships in the front line. However, both ships had been called back to Starbase 375 for retreat. By now, even Worf was beginning to lose morale due to the retreats from the Dominion. What the alliance needed was a victory, something that Sisko had been planning all along – Operation Return, the plan to retake Deep Space 9.

The original plan of taking three Federation fleets and a Klingon contingent were scuttled when Sisko received word that the minefield was about to come down. The Second and Fifth Fleets had to take Deep Space 9 themselves. Even so, Martok and Worf tried to convince Chancellor Gowron to send some ships to the battle. Although it took a long time, Gowron eventually realized that both an ally and enemy were telling him the same thing, so agreed to send the ships. Outside the Bajoran system, the Federation was on the verge of losing the battle (Sisko had fallen for a trap set by the Cardassians), but then Worf and Martok's Klingon forces entered at an opportune moment. They inflicted enough damage on the Dominion for the Defiant to break through the lines. The Defiant went on to retake the station and win the battle. When the Jem'Hadar took command of the Defiant, and the crew pretended to make repairs to the warp core for their captors, Worf made it appear he was repairing the plasma display console but was actually sending signals to the bridge to give command operations to Sisko from main engineering. (DS9: "Favor the Bold", "Sacrifice of Angels", "One Little Ship")

Some time thereafter, Worf earned a second serious blemish on his service record when he abandoned an important mission for Starfleet Intelligence to rescue Jadzia Dax, who he had married shortly after the retaking of the station. Though no formal charges were leveled, due to the secrecy of the mission, Sisko said, "This will go in your service record... and to be completely honest, you should know that they'll probably never give you a command of your own after this." (DS9: "Change of Heart")

In 2375, Worf became disillusioned with the leadership of Gowron. Gowron feared Martok's growing popularity and devised a plan to discredit Martok and end any potential threat to his authority. Gowron began ordering Martok on near-suicidal missions against Dominion forces, hoping that a string of defeats would weaken Martok's popularity and discredit him as a military leader. Recognizing that Gowron was jeopardizing the entire war effort, Worf tried to convince Martok that he should challenge Gowron for the leadership. After Martok refused, Worf decided to challenge Gowron himself, citing his faulty battle planning, his dishonorable conduct in trying to discredit Martok, and poor strategies at the later stages of the Dominion War. After a brief battle, Worf killed Gowron; by right, he was proclaimed the new chancellor of the Klingon High Council. However, Worf immediately gave his position to Martok. After the war, Martok asked that Worf be appointed Federation Ambassador to the Klingon Empire. Thereafter, Worf left Deep Space 9 to take his new post on Qo'noS. (DS9: "Tacking Into the Wind", "What You Leave Behind")

In 2373, Worf was ordered to take the USS Defiant and join the fleet of ships set to intercept a Borg cube in the Typhon sector on a course for Earth. Along with the USS Bozeman and USS Lexington, the Defiant was heavily damaged by the cube and Worf was considering a kamikaze attack, when the USS Enterprise-E came to Worf's rescue. The Enterprise-E took on board the survivors of the Defiant, including Worf. Reunited with his old crewmates, Worf assisted in destroying the cube with the tactical information divulged by Picard. After it was destroyed, Worf discovered that a sphere was traveling back in time to 2063, in an attempt to prevent First Contact between Humans and Vulcans. After destroying the Borg sphere, Worf successfully helped destroy the Enterprise's deflector dish, which the Borg were turning into an interplexing beacon, and prevent them from changing history. (Star Trek: First Contact)

In 2375, Worf visited the Federation colony on Manzar to establish a new defense perimeter against the Dominion. At this opportunity, however, he visited his old friends on the Enterprise-E, which was on a diplomatic mission nearby. For a brief period, Worf rejoined his old crew to reveal Admiral Dougherty's conspiracy concerning the Ba'ku relocation. (Star Trek: Insurrection)

In 2379, Worf rejoined his old crewmates from the Enterprise-E on Earth when he attended William Riker and Deanna Troi's wedding ceremony. Following the Earth wedding and while en route to a second ceremony on Betazed, the second wedding was postponed as the Enterprise-E detected positronic signals from the Kolarin system. Following the discovery that the source of the positronic signals was a Soong-type android, B-4, Vice AdmiralKathryn Janeway of Starfleet Command assigned the Enterprise-E to Romulus to begin new peace talks with the new Praetor of the Romulan Star Empire, Shinzon, who was a Human clone of Picard. The peace offer turned out to be a trap and, in the end, Worf, along with the Enterprise crew, had to face Shinzon and the Remans together with the Romulans, after which Worf finally admitted that the Romulans had fought with honor, possibly overcoming his lifelong grudge towards them. (Star Trek Nemesis)

Worf's intense desire to become a part of his lost culture was matched by enduring loyalty to the world that adopted him in his darkest hour. Those impulses forged a character of indomitable courage and integrity, uncompromising idealism, and a more-Klingon-than-Klingon facade that was occasionally lifted to reveal romanticism, gentleness, and humor.

While coming from a species frequently regarded as aggressive and enthusiastically boisterous, Worf often gave the first impression of being a rather dour and reserved, though surly and even vaguely threatening, individual. Beverly Crusher described Worf as a tall Klingon who rarely smiled. Likewise, Jadzia Dax referred to Worf as a man difficult to get along with, but she did see him as a good person. Jadzia admitted that whenever it came to Klingon culture, Worf would always get misty-eyed with sentiment. (TNG: "Remember Me"; DS9: "Children of Time", "You Are Cordially Invited")

Worf's conservative nature and respect for tradition occasionally brought him down on the side of issues that conflicted with the views of his friends. Antipathy for his species' historical enemy made him refuse to donate tissue from his body that may have saved a dying Romulan officer in 2366. He helped Rear AdmiralNorah Satie uncover treason among the crew of the Enterprise-D in 2367, leading to unfounded accusations against Captain Picard and crewman Simon Tarses. After the witch-hunt was stopped, Worf apologized for the trouble he helped cause, but Picard commended his vigilance, reminding him of the difficulty of spotting a villain who operates with such subtlety. During what should have been a romantic vacation on the pleasure world of Risa, Worf temporarily joined Pascal Fullerton's New Essentialists movement, helping them to sabotage Risa's weather modification network. (TNG: "The Enemy", "The Drumhead"; DS9: "Let He Who Is Without Sin...")

Worf's reputation for a lack of humor inspired regular teasing from those close enough to get away with it, like Riker, or too powerful to care, like Q. It pleased Martok and Jadzia Dax to no end whenever they could squeeze a joke from the tight-lipped Klingon. Worf denied his lack of humor to Jadzia once, claiming that he was quite amusing on the Enterprise-D, causing her to theorize that "it must have been one dull ship." (DS9: "You Are Cordially Invited", "Change of Heart") Lwaxana Troi occasionally called Worf "Mister Woof", initially by mistake. Worf did not appreciate the misnomer. (TNG: "Half a Life", "Cost of Living", "Dark Page")

Although shy about it, Worf enjoyed singing Klingon operas. While at a bar on Qualor II in 2368, Worf requested that Amarie play Aktuh and Maylota and briefly graced the patrons with his baritone voice. He was stranded for some time in an escape pod in 2375, and passed the time taking advantage of the favorable acoustics. Though he initially denied the private performance, Ezri Dax guessed that he had been singing Shevok'tah gish. Chagrined, he admitted to actually singing Gav'ot toh'va, a piece with rather ambitious solos. (TNG: "Unification II"; DS9: "Penumbra")

Worf was an admirer of Natasha Yar and her martial arts skills, and joined her on the ship's parrises squares team. Three days before she died, Worf placed a wager that Yar would be victorious in an upcoming martial arts competition. (TNG: "11001001", "Skin of Evil")

Worf ran regular Mok'bara classes during his time on the Enterprise-D, of which Deanna Troi and Dr. Crusher became regular students. Worf ran several classes of varying difficulties, such as the beginning and advanced levels. (TNG: "Clues", "Birthright, Part I", "Birthright, Part II")

Worf's scent has been described as earthy and peaty, with a touch of lilac (although the tone of this comment implies that it was more of a joke). (DS9: "Trials and Tribble-ations")

Worf's weapon skills were not simply restricted to regimented form, and he was able to adapt to unexpected conditions. When one side of his bat'leth was shattered in his last duel with Gowron, he quickly chose the tip sections of the sundered side and used them like knives. Although Gowron was able to slowly force his opponent back, Worf still successfully blocked all the strikes of Gowron's bat'leth with his knives and killed him shortly after. DS9: "Tacking Into the Wind")

In 2366, the fugitive Roga Danar escaped the brig of the Enterprise-D to return to Lunar V. Worf led the security staff in an attempt to recapture Roga, who managed to evade phaser explosions, transporter locks, decompressions and force fields to reach the shuttlebay. Worf fought hand-to-hand with the fugitive but the Angosian's genetic enhancements proved too powerful for him. (TNG: "The Hunted")

Worf's unarmed combat skills progressed to the point that, while being held in a Dominion prison camp, he defeated twelve consecutive Jem'Hadar soldiers in honorable combat, and forced the thirteenth, an Honored Elder, to yield in deference to his courage, the Jem'Hadar recognizing that he could only kill Worf rather than defeat him as Worf refused to give in to his opponent. Martok promised that, when they returned to the Empire, he would seek out Keedera himself, so a song would be written about Worf's accomplishment. (DS9: "By Inferno's Light")

Later in 2364, after Q transported the Enterprise crew down to the surface of an unknown planetoid (which was possibly created by Q), Worf and his shipmates were attacked by a group of musket-wielding aliens wearing 18th centuryFrench army uniforms. Unarmed, Worf charged the aliens and defeated some of them but was eventually stabbed in the abdomen with a bayonet by one of the aliens and died moments later, only to be revived by William T. Riker, who was temporarily in possession of Q powers. (TNG: "Hide and Q")

Two years later, the Enterprise picked up a Zalkonian in the final stages of an evolutionary change. Since he had suffered memory loss, the crew simply referred to him as John Doe. When Worf tried to stop him from stealing a shuttlecraft, John Doe emanated an energy bolt in self-defense. Unfortunately, that bolt proved to be fatal to Worf, who was then declared dead by the medical crew. However, John Doe's strange transformations allowed him to heal Worf's injury and restore his life. (TNG: "Transfigurations")

Once, while checking cargo containers, a large one fell on Worf, injuring his back and leaving him paralyzed. Unwilling to continue living as a paralyzed Klingon, Worf asked Riker to perform the hegh'bat. However, Riker refused to aid such a ritual, quoting, "That right falls to the eldest son." Opposition from Riker, Troi and Dr. Crusher, in addition to Alexander's lack of knowledge of Klingon culture, led Worf to change his mind. He permitted Dr. Toby Russell to perform a dangerous and experimental procedure to replace his spinal column. The surgery was a failure, and Worf was declared dead. Due to the redundancies of Klingon physiology, where every organ in the Klingon body has a backup organ that activates whenever damage occurs to the first, his internal backups were initiated and Worf woke up. It took time, but with the help of his son and Troi, Worf made a full recovery. (TNG: "Ethics")

Worf was apparently allergic to cats, as was evidenced in 2370, when – following Lieutenant CommanderData asking him to temporarily care for his cat, Spot – Worf sneezed loudly while carrying her out of Data's quarters. The incident startled Spot. (TNG: "Phantasms")

While the Enterprise was upgrading its sensor array, Worf, along with Riker, Kaminer, Edward Hagler, Sariel Rager, and La Forge, was abducted by mysterious solanogen-based lifeforms for strange experiments. Since they were abducted in their sleep, many began to experience afterimages of the aliens' tests. Worf experienced one such flashback when he went to get his hair cut by Mot. When he saw the scissors Mot would be using, it reminded him of the blade used to probe him. In order to discover the location of the aliens, Worf suggested planting a homing device on Riker, so that when his next abduction came, they could locate him and the aliens. (TNG: "Schisms")

Worf suffering from Barclay's Protomorphosis Syndrome

Later that year, when the Enterprise became affected by Barclay's Protomorphosis Syndrome, Worf was one of the first crew members to devolve. He de-evolved into a Klingon prehistoric venomous predator, and after he sprayed Beverly Crusher with venom, he went on a rampage and terrorized the entire ship, killed Ensign Dern, and tried to mate with Deanna Troi, who had devolved into an amphibian creature. (TNG: "Genesis")

Worf dated K'Ehleyr, a Human-Klingon woman, while he attended Starfleet Academy, but the relationship at the time ended acrimoniously. In 2365, while K'Ehleyr served as a Klingon emissary, she had to board the Enterprise-D to deal with a Klingon sleeper ship from the 23rd century. The two briefly rekindled their relationship when a joint holodeck training exercise led to a Klingon mating ritual. Worf, at the time, insisted that they take the oath of marriage afterward, but K'Ehleyr refused, stating, "Don't give me any of that Klingon nonsense." K'Ehleyr paid no heed to Klingon tradition, as she felt that she had inherited the worst traits of her respective parents' races (her Human mother's sense of humor, and her Klingon father's temper). They parted afterward, resolving their feelings before her departure from the Enterprise-D. (TNG: "The Emissary")

Unbeknownest to Worf, however, the mating ritual led to K'Ehleyr becoming pregnant with their child. K'Ehleyr returned to the Enterprise-D in 2367 to participate in the succession of Chancellor K'mpec, and took the opportunity to introduce their son, Alexander, to Worf for the first time. In the intervening years, she found she needed Worf after all, and wanted to finish the mating ritual. This time, Worf backed off, unwilling to permit his intervening discommendation to discredit either K'Ehleyr or Alexander. Worf's refusal to detail the nature of his discommendation prompted K'Ehleyr to start her own investigation, an action that triggered the attention of Duras and her subsequent murder. Worf and Alexander found K'Ehleyr dying from multiple stab wounds. Her whisper confirmed the identity of her killer, and she brought Alexander's small hand to his father's as she died.

Worf performed the Klingon death ritual and consoled his son in Klingon fashion before he abandoned the symbols of Starfleet and Empire. With only his bat'leth, he boarded Duras' ship, the IKS Vorn, claiming the Right of Vengeance under Klingon law. After the first blows were exchanged, Duras reminded Worf the cost of victory – Duras' death meant Worf's family name may never be cleared. Worf's family name suddenly meant little against the memory of K'Ehleyr, and he answered, "Then that is how it shall be!" and left Duras' corpse on the deck (see also: Alexander). (TNG: "Reunion")

Worf was unaware of Alexander's existence for the first years of the boy's life, until K'Ehleyr introduced their child in 2367. Under the Empire's discommendation at the time, Worf hesitated to acknowledge his son and thus perpetuate dishonor into the next generation of the House of Mogh. As K'Ehleyr lay dying from the stabs of Duras, her last act was to bring the pair together. Worf raged the Klingon death ritual, terrifying his son, but he brought Alexander to his mother for the last time, telling him, "You have never seen death.... Then look – and always remember." After avenging K'Ehleyr's death, Worf confirmed to Alexander that indeed he was his father (see also: K'Ehleyr). (TNG: "Reunion")

K'Ehleyr held little regard for Klingon traditions, let alone indoctrination, conflicting with Worf's theories of Klingon child-raising. Despite trying to teach Alexander about the Klingon artifacts located in his quarters (including a bat'leth), Alexander seemed to show no interest. After K'Ehleyr's death, Alexander was sent to live with his grandparents, but the Rozhenkos found that raising a Klingon child was now more than they could handle, in advancing years. Helena returned the boy within a year to be with Worf. Lwaxana Troi's influence added to Worf's headaches, but father and son settled into a home life aboard the Enterprise-D. (TNG: "New Ground", "Cost of Living")

Worf and Alexander played sheriff and deputy pursuing a dangerous criminal in an Ancient West themed holodeck program. One of Data's experiments accidentally turned all the holodeck characters into manifestations of Data (which also had all his physical capabilities), and disabled the holodeck safety protocols. With Alexander kidnapped, Worf arranged for his return by agreeing to a duel with the villain in the town square. Worf managed to survive by manufacturing a makeshift force field. (TNG: "A Fistful of Datas")

When Alexander was approaching his first Age of Ascension, Worf was appalled to discover that Alexander did not want to become a warrior. An encounter with K'mtar (a future Alexander from an alternate timeline) forced Worf to let Alexander follow his destiny. (TNG: "Firstborn")

Once the Enterprise-D was destroyed, Alexander was sent back to his grandparents. While he was growing up, Alexander decided he wanted to join the Klingon Defense Forces after all, eventually ending up on the Rotarran, Martok's ship. When reporting for duty, he referred to himself as Alexander Rozhenko instead of the son of Worf. A confused Martok asked what this house of Rozhenko was, to which Worf replied that Alexander was his son. Martok and Worf became concerned when Alexander was not fraternizing well with his Klingon comrades. Worf interrupted a fight between Alexander and Ch'Targh, when Alexander was on the verge of losing. Alexander revealed that he hated feeling like the unwanted son that Worf would rather get rid of. Worf tried to explain that the Jem'Hadar would not go easy on him, and that if he didn't learn how to fight quickly, they would kill him. After Alexander mistook a battle simulation as the real thing, the crew accepted him as the ship's fool. However, in the real battle, he successfully sealed a leaking plasma impulse injector. After this victory, Martok and Worf deemed him worthy of joining the House of Martok. (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior", "Sons and Daughters")

When Alexander revealed that he was transferring to the IKS Ya'Vang, Jadzia Dax decided to push forward her wedding ceremony to before he left, so that he could serve as Worf's Tawi'Yan. With the date moved up, Alexander was allowed to participate in Worf's Kal'Hyah ceremony (a Klingon bachelor party), along with Sisko, Martok, Bashir and O'Brien. Despite being a Klingon, Alexander struggled through the ceremony almost as much as Bashir and O'Brien. (DS9: "You Are Cordially Invited")

Jadzia Dax was Worf's second mate, and the first woman he ceremonially took as his wife. The two became good friends because of Curzon's understanding and interest in Klingon culture. When they first met at Quark's Bar, he instantly recognized the station's science officer as the new host of Curzon, a name honored amongst Klingons, to which Jadzia responded (in Klingon) that she was more attractive than Curzon had been. Worf, however, was distracted by Drex attempting to stir up trouble in the bar. When Worf managed to stop Drex and take his dagger, Dax said in amazement, "He's good."

Jadzia gave Worf a copy of her calisthenics program, which Worf mistook for Curzon's program. At this, Jadzia challenged Worf to a bat'leth match, which Jadzia lost. (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior")

When Worf moved his quarters to the Defiant, Jadzia gave him her collection of Klingon operas, and suggested that he play them through the Defiant's communications systems. Worf accepted them as a thoughtful gift, especially after Nog re-tuned and remastered them. (DS9: "Bar Association", "In the Cards")

Worf became romantically involved with Jadzia Dax in early 2373. It started when Quark's former wife, Grilka, came aboard the station. When Worf developed an instant crush on Grilka, he couldn't fathom how she could have married a Ferengi. Jadzia's explanation of the full story (DS9: "The House of Quark") merely exacerbated Worf's confusion. In order to win her heart, Worf decided to perform deeds that were overtly Klingon, such as throwing Morn off his stool, demanding bloodwine, and insulting Grilka's bodyguard, Thopok. However, since Mogh's family honor had been disgraced, Grilka could not possibly mate with Worf.

Dejected, Worf chose to help Quark win Grilka's heart, with advice from Jadzia. By controlling Quark's movements using a remote control device, he helped Quark defeat Thopok and win the heart of Grilka. Then Jadzia jumped on Worf and the pair had their own mating ritual. As required by tradition, Worf demanded that Jadzia marry him, but Jadzia understood that Worf was not a traditional man, and they agreed to a more gradual exploration of their relationship. (DS9: "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places")

The romance had a rocky start. In their first holiday together (on Risa), Worf grew immediately jealous of Arandis, the chief facilitator at the resort planet and Curzon's former lover. Even though Jadzia explained that she had moved on, long ago, Worf remained suspicious. However, after a heart-to-heart talk with him, Jadzia helped Worf get over his jealousy. (DS9: "Let He Who Is Without Sin...")

When Dax found out from Sisko that Worf was to accompany Elim Garak on a suicide mission to find Enabran Tain, she took back her Klingon operas, which motivated Worf to survive his mission to the Gamma Quadrant with an embrace. (DS9: "In Purgatory's Shadow")

Worf and Jadzia Dax' wedding

When war broke out between the Federation and Dominion in late 2373, Worf and Jadzia were separated when they were reassigned. Dax was given command of the Defiant, while Worf was assigned to a Klingon ship. Jadzia vowed that, when DS9 was retaken and they had returned to their former positions, she would decide to wed Worf. This spurred Worf on, through the early days of the Dominion war. While all of Starfleet was grim from the news that the Seventh Fleet had been defeated at the Tyra system, Worf could only think of one thing: the fact that the ritual targ sacrifice was to take place after the wedding ceremony, whereas tradition dictated that it take place before. He had been bugging Martok about it, ever since they left Deep Space 9. He was, however, concerned for Dax's safety after her symbiont was injured, when she bore the brunt of an explosion near an M-class planet in a dark matter nebula. When she was rescued by the Rotarran, Worf was relieved to see that she recovered from the injuries. (DS9: "Call to Arms", "A Time to Stand", "Rocks and Shoals", "Sons and Daughters")

Following the successful Operation Return in early 2374, Dax decided to marry Worf within the week. All she had to do was appease Lady Sirella, mistress of the House of Martok, for the two to wed. This proved more difficult than expected, since Sirella, not wanting aliens to pollute her house, opposed the marriage. When Dax refused to stop a party, an enraged Sirella screamed that there would be no Klingon wedding. When Dax asked for a Bajoran-style wedding led by Sisko, a quivering Worf decided to call the whole thing off. After some fence-mending by Sisko, Dax and Worf eventually resumed the wedding, and the pair married in Quark's Bar. (DS9: "You Are Cordially Invited") Later on, after Jadzia lost a game of tongo to Quark, Worf – who had also lost a bet on that game to Miles O'Brien – told Jadzia that he would rather lose a bet on her than win one on someone else. Jadzia felt that was one of the most romantic things Worf had ever said to her. (DS9: "Change of Heart")

The marriage proved strong. When Lasaran, a Cardassian defector, contacted Starfleet Intelligence in 2374, Worf and Jadzia were ordered to rendezvous with him and return him safely to Federation space. During the mission, Jadzia was seriously wounded by a Jem'Hadar energy weapon. The anticoagulant properties of the weapon put Jadzia's life in danger and Worf abandoned Lasaran in order to save her. The action caused Worf to receive a reprimand, and Captain Sisko believed it would prevent him from ever receiving his own command, but Worf stated he had no regrets. (DS9: "Change of Heart")

Worf mourns Jadzia

By late 2374, Jadzia and Worf had decided to attempt parenthood, despite the extreme difficulties posed by the disparate biologies of Trill and Klingons. Worf had already proven his ability in fatherhood by babysitting the O'Briens' son, Kirayoshi, and with the help of Bashir, Jadzia and Worf could attempt to conceive. In thanks, she visited the Bajoran temple on the Promenade, where she was attacked and killed by GulDukat, who was possessed by a Pah-wraith and was attempting to destroy the Orb kept in the temple. (DS9: "Time's Orphan", "Tears of the Prophets")

In 2375, Worf led a mission to destroy a Dominion shipyard. He dedicated this mission to his late wife, in order to ease her entrance into Sto-vo-kor. (DS9: "Shadows and Symbols")

In the Enterprise's second Officer Exchange Program, Worf was reunited with his brother Kurn, whom he had not seen since he first left his homeworld as a child. Kurn used the exchange program as pretence to reunite with Worf, and to inform Worf that his honor was put into question because the Klingon Empire announced that their father had betrayed the Klingons at the Khitomer colony by giving the Romulans strategic information. When Worf challenged this ruling, Kurn was also present. When Worf decided to accept the dishonor (to prevent civil war), it was also decided to keep Kurn's bloodline secret to protect his honor. (TNG: "Sins of the Father")

When Gowron ascended to Chancellor after the Klingon Civil War and restored the honor of the House of Mogh, Kurn gained a seat in the High Council. For a time, it seemed that the House of Mogh would thrive and could even one day inherit the Chancellorship, but then Worf condemned the Klingon invasion of Cardassia.

An enraged Gowron had the House of Mogh stripped of its honor and had Kurn thrown off the High Council and continued on the course for war without Worf's help. (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior")

Four months after Kurn lost his seat on the Klingon High Council, he arrived at DS9 seeking help from his brother to perform the Mauk-to'Vor ritual. He felt that the ritual, which involved Worf killing him, was the only way to restore his honor. After receiving orders from Sisko not to carry out the honor killing, Worf arranged for his brother to have cosmetic surgery and his memory wiped so he could start a new life with no ties to the House of Mogh. (DS9: "Sons of Mogh")

Worf had a contentious relationship with his elder foster-brother, Nikolai. Cavalier, inspired, and rebellious, Nikolai's antics – and the pains he caused in their mother – invoked the ire of his dutiful, honor-conscious brother. Nikolai thought of Worf as a perfectionist, and resented him never being wild or disobedient. But the sibling tensions between the two seemed to be of a commonplace, Human variety. Later in life, reflecting on their childhood together, neither man made note of their genetic differences as a source of their friction. When asked if he and Nikolai were close, Worf considered, and merely said, "We are... brothers," Nikolai later automatically introducing Worf as his brother to a group of Boraalans when he could have just as easily introduced Worf to them as a friend. Reflecting on his brother, Worf also noted that Nikolai had many fine qualities despite their disagreements, acknowledging that his brother was "brilliant, persuasive... a natural leader," despite his inability to follow the rules. (TNG: "Homeward")

When making contact with Nikolai at the Boraalan homeworld, Worf (disguised as a Boraalan) was shocked to discover his foster brother had violated the Prime Directive. Worf, who was a firm believer in the Prime Directive, (TNG: "Pen Pals") discovered that Nikolai had become much more involved with the Boraalans than necessary. Nikolai conceived a child with a Boraalan female, Dobara, and became very protective of the Boraalans in her village. Although his actions saved the Boraalan race (whose homeworld had been rendered uninhabitable by atmospheric dissipation), it took the holodecks of the Enterprise and vast amounts of power to keep them from finding out. While the Enterprise shipped the villagers to their new home on Vacca VI, Worf and Nikolai navigated them through an ever-changing holographic landscape (subtly altered, so it ended up resembling their new home). As the power started running out, the holodeck was beginning to have trouble maintaining cohesion, and parts of the holodeck started manifesting itself. Worf calmed the villagers, claiming the images to be the sign of La Forge. They reached the new home just as the holographic simulations ran out of power and ended. On parting, Worf informed Nikolai that he would tell their mother that Nikolai was happy. (TNG: "Homeward")

Worf always had high respect for Martok, even when he was replaced by a Changeling. In 2373, Worf found the real GeneralMartok in Dominion Internment Camp 371. Martok was forced to face the Jem'Hadar in daily fighting contests (one of which led to the loss of one of his eyes), until Worf replaced him. The way Worf won each battle so impressed Martok that he felt his actions were worthy of song. Having been healed by Bashir, and trained by Martok, who was at ringside for each of his contests, Worf defeated all the Jem'Hadar guards, so the Jem'Hadar First, Ikat'ika, presented himself as Worf's next challenge. Worf, already badly injured by previous fights, was losing and was about to let Ikat'ika kill him, when he experienced a moment of tova'dok with Martok. Worf stood back up one more time, refusing to yield to Ikat'ika. It was then that Ikat'ika realized that he could not defeat his opponent, only kill him, something which "no longer held his interest." Ikat'ika himself yielded the match. Deyos, the leading Vorta officer of the facility, had Ikat'ika executed for refusing to kill Worf. It was at that moment that Garak had finished the transmitter and all the prisoners escaped back to Deep Space 9.

Martok was given command of the IKS Rotarran and requested Worf to be first officer, with Jadzia Dax as the science officer. His first mission was to locate the missing cruiser IKS B'Moth. A string of defeats against the Jem'Hadar had sapped the morale of the Rotarran's crew, to the point where dishonorable conduct and dereliction of duty were commonplace. When Martok refused to engage the Jem'Hadar, the crew of the Rotarran decided to mutiny, and Worf challenged Martok himself, accusing him of being a coward. Although it was obvious, from the start, that Martok was no match for Worf, Martok's confidence and tenacity intensified during the fight. Realizing this, Worf subtly let his guard down and allowed Martok to win the fight, severely injuring Worf and retaining command of the Rotarran while restoring the crew's loyalty. This lead to the Rotarran's first victory over the Jem'Hadar, and the rescue of the B'Moth. Rather than punish Worf for mutiny, Martok thanked him for reminding him of his duty as a soldier of the Empire, and offered Worf a place in his House as a "brother". Together, the "brothers" turned a low-morale vessel that was on the brink of mutiny into the Klingon Empire's most distinguished ship. (DS9: "Soldiers of the Empire")

Worf, Alexander Rozhenko, Jadzia and Ezri Dax were all adopted into the House of Martok. Driven to the brink of madness by Worf's single-mindedness and longing for Dax, Martok could not be more pleased that the wedding to Jadzia was going ahead. He participated in Worf's Kal'Hyah ceremony (one of the few participants who had an easy time), and when Worf got cold feet, he convinced Worf to put the wedding back on track. After Jadzia died, Worf became concerned that her death had not been sufficiently honorable for her to enter Sto-vo-kor. Worf needed to win a glorious battle in her name for her to enter it, and General Martok gave him such a mission – destroy the Dominion shipyards of Monac IV. (DS9: "You Are Cordially Invited", "Image in the Sand", "Shadows and Symbols")

In the holographic message Natasha Yar composed before her death, she noted her commonality with Worf, as orphaned warriors, and called him a kindred spirit. When Worf assumed Yar's duties after her death, he promised to uphold her example. Worf also seems protective of Tasha. As seen when he defended her from a female Klingon that Q summoned. (TNG: "Skin of Evil")

What friends are for

Though Worf was beginning to feel the Enterprise-D was becoming a true home, there came a point in 2365 when the isolation from his native society could not be ignored. Wesley Crusher's brush with a cranky Klingon inspired him to investigate, and discovered the cause of Worf's discontent. In a holodeck re-creation of a Klingon Rite of Ascension chamber, his loyal friends gathered to celebrate the tenth anniversary of his Age of Ascension and witnessed Worf endure the traditional gauntlet of painstiks. They had never seen him happier. (TNG: "The Icarus Factor")

Worf became a fixture at the senior officer's weekly poker games, where he liked to give the impression he took the game as seriously as combat. The "Iceman", as Riker sometimes called him, relished exorbitant bets and insisted that Klingons never bluffed (an assertion later proven false). In one game, he was prepared to wager his goatee against Beverly Crusher's hair color. (TNG: "The Emissary", "The Quality of Life")

Guinan once asked Worf why he always sat alone. Worf looked at her with vague irritation and replied that he required a Klingon woman for companionship, since "Earth females are too fragile." Despite Guinan's claim she knew one or two women on board who might find him a bit tame, an amused Worf refuted this as "impossible". (TNG: "Yesterday's Enterprise")

This is one of the few times that Worf is seen laughing.

Arctus Baran's capture of Picard and Riker left Data in temporary command of the Enterprise-D for a period in 2370. Worf's evident dissatisfaction with Data's command decisions quickly grew into open criticism – improper conduct from an acting first officer. Data was forced to privately chastise Worf for his behavior, and quickly added his regrets if the confrontation ended their friendship. Chagrined, Worf acknowledged his errors and admitted that, if their friendship had been threatened, it was his blame alone. (TNG: "Gambit, Part II")

He took the disgraced Ensign Sito under his wing, helped her regain an exemplary service record (after her involvement with the Nova Squadron crash, two years previous), and got her recruited for a dangerous mission to Cardassia Prime, a mission she never returned from. Upon hearing this, Worf joined her friends for a drink at Ten Forward. (TNG: "The First Duty", "Lower Decks")

In the 2366 incident of Galorndon Core, the Enterprise rescued a fatally injured Romulan soldier named Patahk. Dr. Crusher discovered that he had cell damage to several vital areas that required a transfusion of compatible ribosomes and only Worf could provide the cells. Due to memories of the Khitomer incident and his distrust in Romulans, Worf refused to donate his blood. Patahk mutually agreed with Worf's decision, saying he would rather die than have his "cells polluted with Klingon filth". Picard tried to make Worf reconsider, asking (and soon begging) him for a favor as a friend, not as his commanding officer. Since it was not an order, Worf stuck with his decision not to donate blood and Picard respected his choice. Patahk died soon afterward. (TNG: "The Enemy")

When Picard was taken prisoner and replaced by a duplicate, the crew discovered the impostor from his differing behavior. Worf was one of the officers who mutinied against the impostor to side with Riker. When the real Picard returned to the Enterprise, he only needed one glance to Worf for him to initiate a series of events that culminated in Worf trapping the aliens. (TNG: "Allegiance")

When the honor of Mogh was called into question over the Khitomer incident, and Kurn could not serve as cha'DIch, Worf chose Picard to act as his cha'DIch. Picard accepted, and successfully uncovered the truth about the Khitomer massacre. The truth led to Worf and Picard's contempt for the House of Duras, who were the real traitors. (TNG: "Sins of the Father")

Picard's successful tenure as Arbiter of Succession to the Klingon Empire gave Worf added respect for Picard. Despite Worf having killed Duras, going against the Federation charter and Prime Directive, Picard forgave Worf for the incident, although he issued his security chief a reprimand. (TNG: "Reunion")

When the Enterprise-E was taken over by the Borg and Picard opposed the recommendation to abandon ship, Worf was labeled a coward by Picard, saying "You want to blow up the ship - and run away - you COWARD!" To this, Worf responded, "If you were any other man, I would kill you where you stand!" implying great admiration. Picard later admitted that Worf was the "bravest man" he had ever known and they both shook hands in camaraderie. (Star Trek: First Contact)

Worf met Guinan when she first came aboard the Enterprise. Guinan introduced Worf to what became his favorite drink, prune juice. As Guinan sat down at his table, she asked why Worf always sat alone. Worf looked at her with vague irritation as the conversation was venturing into areas he'd rather avoid. Worf replied he required a Klingon woman for companionship, as Human females were too fragile. Despite Guinan's claim she knew one or two women on board who may have found him a bit tame, a very amused Worf refuted this as "impossible." (TNG: "Yesterday's Enterprise")

When Worf's parents visited the Enterprise, Guinan consoled their fears about making Worf uncomfortable with their presence by telling them that, when people came to Ten Forward to look for their home star, Worf always looked for Earth rather than Qo'noS, reflecting their powerful role in his life. (TNG: "Family")

Guinan and Worf competed with each other in the phaser range. During the 2367 Klingon civil war, Guinan asked Worf about how his son, Alexander, was doing. Worf replied he was having difficulties adjusting to life on Earth, to which Guinan responded the time would come when Alexander found out what it really meant to be Klingon, just as the time had now come for Worf. (TNG: "Redemption")

William T. Riker, a jovial and amiable man in general, got along well with Worf. In some instances, he managed to bring out eruptions of emotion that his stoic lieutenant strove to keep in reserve. When Riker was heady with the powers of the Q, he eagerly tried to share the experience with otherwise impossible gifts for his friends. He noted Worf's isolation from his native culture, and with the best of intentions, he gave Worf an aggressively lustful Klingon female. Enraged and embarrassed, Worf refused the woman, admitting that the world she represented was alien to him and he had no place for such a "gift" in his life at the time. (TNG: "Hide and Q")

As a vital, athletic man who participated in dangerous sports like parrises squares and anbo-jytsu, Riker might have liked to think he could keep up with a younger Klingon, and joined Worf in his brutally violent Klingon calisthenicsholodeck program. The exercise ended with all opponents defeated, and Worf was looking for more, rather intently, and in the specific direction of his increasingly alarmed partner. Riker hastily called an end to the session. (TNG: "Where Silence Has Lease")

Worf considered William T. Riker a fellow warrior, and on at least a couple of occasions Riker asked Worf to accompany him on particularly dangerous assignments or potential transfers. (TNG: "The Outcast", "The Icarus Factor")

Sometime after those events – where Worf had risked offending (or worse) his superior officer with a sense of impunity – a minor gesture by Worf innocently reached out to reciprocate the proffered friendship. When Riker proudly prepared 'Owoneggomelettes for a meal with his gathered friends, only Worf could stomach the dish, eating with obvious pleasure and declaring the eggs "delicious". (TNG: "Time Squared")

Riker's practical experience with other Klingons, begun in the Officer Exchange Program, engendered an understanding of the Klingon culture that the other Enterprise-D officers, save perhaps Picard, lacked. Worf helped bring this about, by briefing Riker with his own knowledge of the rules of the chain-of-command in the Klingon Defense Force. When the time came for them to participate in battle exercises in preparation for the Borg threat, Riker was given command of the USS Hathaway to serve as the Enterprise-D's opponent. As Riker's first officer, Worf brought "Klingon guile" to bear (as the barely spaceworthy Hathaway had little else to offer), giving the Enterprise-D a worthy challenge and even coming to her aid against the FerengimarauderKreechta. (TNG: "A Matter Of Honor", "Peak Performance")

When Riker developed a complicated relationship with Soren, a member of the genderless J'naii, Worf overcame his discomfort with the J'naii to offer his aid to Riker in rescuing Soren when she was sentenced to receive 'treatment' for her decision to regard herself as female, his loyalty and respect for his commanding officer overriding his issues with Soren and her people. (TNG: "The Outcast")

Their friendship was jeopardized for a time, after Worf began a romantic relationship with Deanna Troi in 2370. Riker's long history with Troi remained evidently unresolved, a fact that Worf was keenly aware of, and Troi refused to discuss. Picard's experience in an alternate future revealed how the existing tension could grow into naked animosity between the rivals for Troi. By that timeline, they had long been estranged and had no desire to mend fences with each other. During a skirmish with the Klingons, they openly blamed each other for putting the rest of their still-mutual friends in danger. By sharing that foresight with his officers, Picard gave Worf and Riker the chance to halt their schism before it could fully form, and they continued to be close friends. (TNG: "All Good Things...")

In 2371, the senior officers gathered in the Enterprise-D holodeck for an age-of-sail themed celebration, marking Worf's promotion to lieutenant commander. As was customary for Enterprise officers on such occasions, Worf was made to "walk the plank" over open water, and forced to leap upward to grab the dangling symbol of his new rank. Worf was the only officer in the ship's history to succeed in maintaining his balance, and dignity, by keeping his footing on the precipice. Unsatisfied with the precedent, Commander Riker ordered the holodeck computer to instantly remove the plank, using the holodeck's ability to disintegrate holographic matter. His order was mildly chastised (though not without amusement) by Picard, who indicated that the correct expression was to retract the plank. Riker shouted an apology to Worf, who was splashing and cursing angrily in the water. (Star Trek Generations)

Worf and Data's excellent professional relationship and solid, if low-key, friendship was aided by the fact that they had two important things in common. First, both were rescued by the Federation after their homes were destroyed by enemy attacks, instilling in each of them a high regard for the Federation's ideals. Second, both were Starfleet pioneers; Data and Worf were, respectively, the first android and Klingon Starfleet officers. Although most of their time together was in the line of duty (such as bridge duty and away missions), both were frequent participants in the senior staff's poker games, and they often spent time together off-duty in Ten Forward. Also, Worf was one of the only people that Spot, Data's cat, warmed up to, despite Worf's disdain for the animal.

When Data's shuttlecraft exploded while returning to the Enterprise-D in 2366, all Worf could do was stare in shock at the viewscreen and mutter his friend's name. As it turned out, the explosion was staged in order to kidnap Data, and he was subsequently rescued. (TNG: "The Most Toys")

When Geordi La Forge and EnsignRo Laren were presumed dead in a transporter accident in 2368, Data volunteered to arrange the memorial service, but he was unsure about what kind of ceremony to have and asked Worf for advice. Worf told him that, for Klingons, an honorable death in the line of duty was a cause for celebration, not mourning. Data took his advice and arranged a very upbeat party, giving people the chance to share their pleasant memories of the "deceased". (TNG: "The Next Phase")

A year later, Data again sought Worf's guidance, this time in researching the "dreams" he was having. Worf, preoccupied with rumors that his father had survived the attack on Khitomer, gave Data some cryptic answers, but Data seemed to understand what he was saying and went on his way. Data later returned this favor when Worf learned that the apparently-returned Kahless the Unforgettable was actually a clone of the legendary Klingon; Data's reflections about how, after learning of his android nature, he chose to consider himself a person who could progress and grow over time rather than a machine who would never be more than he was, convinced Worf to accept Kahless as the symbol that he could be for their people rather than define him by the circumstances of his origins. (TNG: "Birthright, Part I", "Rightful Heir")

Their friendship was severely tested in 2370 when Data, acting as commanding officer, admonished Worf for challenging his orders in front of the bridge crew. Afterward, Data apologized to Worf if the dressing-down had ended their friendship, but Worf took the high road, saying that if the friendship was in jeopardy, it was his fault alone. After that exchange, their working and personal relationship quickly returned to normal. (TNG: "Gambit, Part II")

Worf was distrustful and uneasy around telepaths, but ship's counselorDeanna Troi became a trusted exception. When he was severely injured in 2368, he asked her to care for Alexander if he died, reasoning that his own parents were too elderly to cope with the difficulties of raising Alexander and assuring Troi that he could think of no better parent for his son than her. By late 2370, Worf asked her to become a soh-chim to Alexander, a role she gladly accepted. (TNG: "Dark Page", "Ethics", "Parallels")

Worf and Troi during their romance

After an encounter with alternate realities showed him a life with Troi as his wife, Worf's eyes were opened to a new possibility, and he began to pursue her. Though surprised, Troi welcomed the advances, and the two enjoyed a romantic relationship through 2370. Deanna wasn't thrilled by Worf's concern for Will Riker's interest in the matter, but the triangle's tension was eased by the advice of Captain Picard. (TNG: "Parallels", "Eye of the Beholder", "All Good Things...")

By contrast, Worf found it quite difficult to adjust to life aboard Deep Space 9, right from the day he arrived. When Worf entered Quark's Bar, Quark asked if he wanted bloodwine (since he was Klingon, and every Klingon Quark met ordered only bloodwine). When Worf asked for prune juice, Quark laughed in disbelief. Worf did not share his humor, so Quark was forced to bring him the prune juice. It was the first of many confrontations with Quark, and the Ferengi in general (whom Worf thought unworthy to serve in Starfleet). (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior", "Little Green Men") During his time on DS9, Worf maintained an immense distrust of Quark, always referring to him as "the Ferengi bartender".

When Worf discovered Quark was dealing with a smuggling operation, he was confounded as to why security officer Odo never arrested Quark. After a disappointing response, Worf decided to take matters into his own hands. When the next smuggled crystal arrived, Worf stepped forward and arrested Quark. It was then that Odo shapeshifted himself and revealed the entire operation as a setup. Odo was going to follow the smuggler and uncover the entire Tarkalean smuggling operation. However, thanks to Worf's interference, Odo had to settle for the middle man. (DS9: "Hippocratic Oath")

Events came to a head one day when Worf's quarters were robbed by a burglar. The response by Odo proved to be disappointing to Worf. This event happened to coincide with a union strike taking place in Quark's Bar. Dr. Julian Bashir and O'Brien were betting who would enter Quark's Bar despite the strike. Both unanimously agreed that Worf would not enter the bar, recalling he rarely entered the bar even before the strike. When they saw that Worf actually entered the bar, O'Brien approached Worf to talk some sense into him. This proved a serious mistake, and led to the three of them being thrown into the brig. At this final incident, Worf decided that the only way to adjust to life aboard the station was to live outside it, on the Defiant. Eventually though, Worf managed to adjust to the activities of the station, even enjoying a Ferengi tooth sharpener in the process. (DS9: "Bar Association", "Little Green Men")

When Worf was posted to DS9 and transferred to the command division, Benjamin Sisko took him under his wing and began grooming him to one day be a captain. Their relationship was that of mentor and student.

Worf and Sisko became personal friends thanks to Sisko's experiences with Curzon and Jadzia, as well as being Worf's defense in his extradition proceedings against Ch'Pok and the Klingon Empire. Sisko also risked his own life to keep Worf alive. The Defiant crew had joined the Dominion in an attempt to destroy the Iconian gateway at Vandros IV. Worf was one of the officers who found tolerating the Jem'Hadar difficult. After a brawl erupted between Worf and Toman'torax (who was threatening O'Brien at the time), Omet'iklan decided to have both officers punished. For his disobedience, Toman'Torax' punishment was execution by his commanding officer, Omet'iklan. Upon seeing that Sisko's punishment merely was to confine Worf to his quarters, Omet'iklan described the Federation as weak, and vowed to kill Sisko once the Iconian gateway was destroyed. Worf vowed to avenge Sisko's death if Omet'iklan succeeded in carrying out his threat and Worf vowed that while the Jem'Hadar commander may succeed in carrying out his threat, he would not live to boast about it, which Sisko wryly found very comforting. (DS9: "Rules of Engagement", "To the Death")

When it was discovered that there was a Changeling in a high position in the Klingon Empire, Worf took part with Sisko in a daring mission to uncover the identity of the changeling and helped to train the Human officers to better appear as Klingon warriors. (DS9: "Apocalypse Rising")

When Kira was praying for the Emissary during his visions of 2373, Worf surprisingly understood her faith in the Prophets (as opposed to the rest of the crew). He felt that the strength of Sisko's faith would be what pulled him through. (DS9: "Rapture")

Worf helped Sisko capture and apprehend the Maquis leader, Michael Eddington. He helped reorganize the Defiant after its computers were disabled by Eddington's cascade virus. Worf also modified and fired a quantum torpedo so it released a trilithium resin into the atmosphere of Solosos III, the act of which forced Eddington to surrender. Worf had assumed the quantum torpedo was going to be used on Eddington's Maquis fighter. (DS9: "For the Uniform")

When Garak persuaded Sisko that he could enter the Gamma Quadrant to search for Enabran Tain, he only allowed him to do so if Worf could accompany him. Later, Worf asked Sisko if he could join General Martok on the Rotarran; Sisko needed a good officer like Worf defending the station, but Worf described his moment of tova'dok with Martok and convinced Sisko to allow Worf to join the Rotarran. He did not oppose Martok's request that Worf remain on the Rotarran even after the Operation Return, knowing that he was the only officer he knew that could never get enough work. (DS9: "In Purgatory's Shadow", "Soldiers of the Empire")

When Sisko was reassigned to Starbase 375 in 2374, leaving Jadzia Dax to command the Defiant to the Argolis Cluster, both he and Worf were concerned for the safety of the ship and her crew. Sisko reassured Worf that Dax wanted to get back for the wedding, while Worf suggested that Sisko get some rest. (DS9: "Behind the Lines")

Sisko took part in Worf's Kal'Hyah ceremony, and tried his best to last the entire four days. He motivated O'Brien, Bashir and Alexander throughout the entire four day ceremony. After Sirella called off the wedding, Sisko convinced both officers that they were in love and that they could not call off the wedding. (DS9: "You Are Cordially Invited")

Worf took command of the Defiant, searching for survivors of the USS Honshu, gunned down by Cardassian destroyers. Two of the survivors were Sisko and Dukat, trapped near the Badlands. When Kira relayed Starfleet's orders to call off the search for Sisko, the message came through garbled with interference. Despite Bashir's claims that the message was too unclear to understand, Worf knew what the message ordered, and said it would be dishonorable to disobey them. Fortunately, Dukat relayed a distress signal detailing the location of Sisko. (DS9: "Waltz")

Worf found the captain to be intimidating, but he kept it secret from Sisko. It was Ezri Dax who had to reveal this fact to Sisko, much to Sisko's amusement. (DS9: "Afterimage")

Worf participated in Sisko's grudge game against former Academy classmate, Captain Solok. Although he performed well in training, Worf received three strikes when he faced the Logicians. Both Sisko and Worf were enraged that he did not obtain a single run. (DS9: "Take Me Out to the Holosuite")

Worf knew ChiefO'Brien from his early days on the Enterprise-D, although their relationship was that of a noncom and his superior. However, they were both participants in the crew's poker games. O'Brien was also a participant in Wesley Crusher's Age of Ascension recreation for Worf, where he commented on the power of the Klingon painstiks. (TNG: "The Emissary", "The Icarus Factor")

Although Worf had to man the bridge at O'Brien's wedding to Keiko, following Data's observation that the gift should reflect the personality of the giver, he gave O'Brien a Klingon weapon as a wedding gift. In 2368, when the Enterprise was damaged by a quantum filament, Worf was forced to deliver Keiko's baby daughter, Molly. He humorously noted that Molly resembled Miles. (TNG: "Data's Day", "Disaster")

O'Brien greets Worf upon his arrival at Deep Space 9

The friendship really took off when Worf transferred to Deep Space 9. O'Brien was the first person to greet Worf when he arrived. Later he introduced Worf to the game of darts, describing it as "poker, but with pointed tips." Once Worf accepted the role of strategic operations officer (with a change of uniform from yellow to red), O'Brien commented how good Worf looked in red. (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior")

Worf gets into a fight with O'Brien

When the Defiant was damaged by the Jem'Hadar during their Karemma negotiations, and Worf found commanding the engineering team difficult, it was O'Brien who helped Worf take a different approach to command. (DS9: "Starship Down")

When Worf discovered that the O'Briens were having another child, he altered his holiday plans to coincide with the birth, just so he wouldn't have to deliver O'Briens' baby like he did with Molly. (DS9: "Accession")

During Worf's trial that demanded his extradition to the Klingon Empire, O'Brien described Worf as "an honorable man". In turn, Worf described O'Brien as an "outstanding officer" and a friend, relaying their mutual respect out loud. (DS9: "Rules of Engagement")

In 2373, Worf participated in recovering a Jem'Hadar ship from Torga IV, the last mission of Enrique Muniz who was severely wounded with a Jem'Hadar weapon. Although Worf believed that Muñiz would not survive his wounds, O'Brien did not agree and clashed with Worf's pessimism escalating into a near brawl between the two. However, Worf was later proved right and Muñiz did succumb to his wounds. Once the mission was over, Worf found the Chief at the casket of Muñiz, holding somewhat of an improvised wake for him. Worf offered to performed the Klingon tradition of ak'voh with the Chief as they would both "Keep the predators away." The two men did not speak of their hostility, just held vigil over Muñiz. (DS9: "The Ship")

O'Brien politely refused Worf's offer of help when Keiko, possessed by a Pah-wraith, fell down the Promenade crossway. (DS9: "The Assignment")

O'Brien had to undergo a ritual fasting with Julian Bashir and Sisko as part of Worf's Kal'Hyah ceremony, which was different than what he thought it would be. He couldn't last the four days (even joining Bashir in vowing to kill Worf at one point), and when he heard the wedding ceremony was called off, he and Bashir immediately ordered a large feast of Earth and Bajoran food. However, Sisko stopped them and helped put the wedding back on track. (DS9: "You Are Cordially Invited")

At one point, Worf and O'Brien, while watching Jadzia and Quark playing a game of tongo against each other and a group of Ferengi waiters, Worf made a bet that Jadzia had the game in hand. He wagered to O'Brien that if she won, he would owe Worf a bottle of bloodwine. If Jadzia lost, however, Worf would then owe the chief a bottle of Irishwhiskey. In the end, however, Worf ended up saying that he would need time to come up with O'Brien's payment. (DS9: "Change of Heart")

Worf was more than happy to babysit Kirayoshi while the O'Briens were busy taking care of Molly, who traveled through an ancient time portal. Once Kirayoshi was returned to his parents, he chose to honor their dinner invitation rather than go in a holosuite. (DS9: "Time's Orphan")

After Jadzia Dax died at the hands of Gul Dukat, O'Brien was one of the first people who attempted to cheer up Worf. While drinking bloodwine and reminiscing about old crewmates (most notably Reginald Barclay), O'Brien found out what was bothering Worf – the fact that his wife did not die an honorable death, and thus could not enter Sto-vo-kor. O'Brien then directed Martok to help Worf, who assigned him the mission to destroy the Monac IV fleet yards. (DS9: "Tears of the Prophets", "Image in the Sand", "Shadows and Symbols")

It was O'Brien who helped Worf ease his hostility to Ezri. Over a bottle of bloodwine, O'Brien asked how Jadzia would feel if she knew how poorly Worf treated Ezri. When Worf claimed that there was no way to know, O'Brien refuted the claim, suggesting he talk to the one person Worf had been avoiding. After keeping her in Starfleet, Worf and O'Brien attended Ezri's promotion party. (DS9: "Afterimage")

When O'Brien's authorization code was used to access sixteen cases of bloodwine sent to Martok by Sirella, Martok and Worf had to quiz O'Brien on where the cases went. O'Brien had to explain to Worf and Martok that Nog must have taken the bloodwine to barter for a graviton stabilizer. Worf and Martok gave O'Brien one day to find the bloodwine. Fortunately, Nog returned with 16 cases of 2309 bloodwine bought from his cousin Gant, an even better vintage than the ones he took. Both Klingons gave O'Brien a bottle of the bloodwine as an "apology". (DS9: "Treachery, Faith and the Great River")

Ezri Dax' relationship with Worf did not go quite as smoothly as Jadzia's, despite many of Jadzia's friends and colleagues quickly accepting the presence of a new Dax in their lives. Initially, Worf wanted nothing to do with her, or even Dr. Bashir, considering Ezri's presence and her relationship with Bashir an affront to his wife's memory. However, he soon realized that his actions were more of an affront, and relations between them began to warm. (DS9: "Afterimage")

During the latter half of the year, Worf commanded the IKS Koraga when it was destroyed by the Dominion; his escape pod was rescued by Ezri Dax, with whom Worf was captured by the Breen shortly after an implied sexual encounter. After undergoing an interrogation (which included killing one of the clones of Weyoun), Worf and Ezri were freed by LegateDamar as part of his resistance to the Dominion, the two subsequently putting aside the last of their issues regarding Worf's relationship with Jadzia as Ezri began to accept her own feelings for Bashir. (DS9: "Penumbra", "Strange Bedfellows")

Although Kurn's new life gave him a chance to regain honor, Worf had to continue living with his dishonor. Kor (considered a hero, according to Worf) offered him the perfect opportunity to regain his honor. Kor, who disliked the High Council enough to consider any enemy of it a friend, revealed to Worf that he and Jadzia knew the secret location of the legendary Sword of Kahless, stolen by Hur'q pillagers a millennium ago. If Worf could find the sword and present it to the present emperor it would almost certainly restore his honor among his people. Kor accepted Worf's request to join the expedition, knowing it would annoy Gowron.

Dax, Kor and Worf find the Sword of Kahless

Although the antechamber that apparently held the sword had been ransacked, Worf discovered that a holographic projection hid the true chamber. With the help of some Hur'q DNA, Kor, Worf and Dax gained access to the hidden chamber, where they found the legendary sword. Worf believed that the discovery of the sword was one of the events in his life that his vision of Kahless foretold him accomplishing.

When the team exited the chamber, they came face-to-face with Toral, son of Duras, an individual whose life Worf had spared following the Klingon Civil War. After a brief battle with Toral and his bodyguards, the team made a dash back to the ship, being chased by Toral. However, while heading back to the ship, Kor and Worf encountered a difference of opinion about the sword. Worf was disgusted when Kor used the sword to eat a vole: "The sword is not something that you use to shovel food down your mouth." When it came time to sleep, Kor and Worf could not sleep, for fear that if they did sleep, the other would seize the opportunity to steal the sword and reap the glory. After a restless night, the team had to maneuver across a steep chasm. Kor lost his footing and nearly fell down the slope. Worf, barely able to hold onto Kor, told him to let go and drop onto a ledge beneath him. Kor, preferring to die rather than let go of the sword, refused and climbed back up with the help of Dax. Kor took a look at the ledge, and found that it was too small to support his weight. This proved too much for Kor, and he decided to fight Worf in battle. If it wasn't for Toral catching up to the team, they would have killed each other. After dealing with Toral, the team realized how much the sword was dividing the two Klingons. They decided that the Empire was not ready for the return of the sword, so they beamed it into space, to be lost until Klingons were ready for it. (DS9: "The Sword of Kahless")

In 2375, when Kor came to the station looking for command of a ship, Worf discovered that Martok held a personal grudge against Kor. Kor was responsible for striking Martok's name from the officers' list because his family was from the lowlands of Ketha Province, and due to his influence, Martok was barred from even enlisting as a common soldier. In order to mend ties between Martok and Kor, Worf managed to sneak him into the IKS Ch'Tang. The Ch'Tang was part of a small fleet assigned to raid the Dominion base on Trelka V. Kor was experiencing lapses in concentration, one of which nearly led to the destruction of the Ch'Tang. While trying to retreat from enemy space, the crew discovered they were being pursued by ten Jem'Hadar fighters. If the Ch'Tang could not find a way to delay the Jem'Hadar fighters, they would not be able to reach friendly space in time. Worf planned to use the IKS Ning'tao to divert the pursuers, a move that would be suicidal. However, before he could reach the transporter, Kor used a hypospray to take Worf's place. Although Kor did not return from the battle, he bought enough time for the Klingon fleet to escape. (DS9: "Once More Unto the Breach")

In 2370, when he returned from a bat'leth tournament on Forcas III, Worf encountered a quantum fissure, and began switching places with other versions of himself in alternate quantum realities. In two realities he visited, he was married to Counselor Deanna Troi. In one of these realities, they had two children: Shannara Rozhenko and Eric-Christopher Rozhenko, whereas Alexander had never been born. It was in this same reality that Worf had been promoted to full commander and appointed first officer of the Enterprise-D under Captain Riker, Picard having been lost in the Borg encounter of 2367. An alternate Lieutenant Worf, who served on board the Enterprise-D from a reality where the Federation had been completely wiped out by the Borg, died when his ship exploded after being fired upon by the other Enterprise-D. All of the alternate versions were returned to their own realities when the fissure was sealed. (TNG: "Parallels")

In an alternate future, Worf had been reluctant to become involved with Troi, and her subsequent death led to a rift between William Riker and himself as a result. He later served as a member of the Klingon High Council, and was the governor of the Klingon colony of H'atoria. (TNG: "All Good Things...")

In an alternate timeline created by the Defiant's time travel back two hundred years, Jadzia Dax and Worf had married and fostered a large family whose descendants formed a significant part of a colony numbering 8,000 people, including Yedrin Dax and Brota. (DS9: "Children of Time")

Lt. Reginald Barclay in 2366 recreated the entire crew of the Enterprise-D when he was suffering from holo-addiction. The recreation of Worf was present when Barclay said goodbye to his fantasies and deleted the programs. (TNG: "Hollow Pursuits")

"What about Garak?"
"I want him back, too. I suppose I don't have to tell you to keep a close eye on him?"
"At the first sign of betrayal, I will kill him. But I promise to return the body intact."
"I assume that's a joke."
"We will see."

"I am a Klingon warrior and a Starfleet officer; I have piloted starships through Dominion minefields; I have stood in battle against Kelvans twice my size; I have courted and won the heart of the magnificent Jadzia Dax! If I can do these things, I can make this child go to sleep!"

"That is how the Klingon lures a mate."
"Are you telling me to go yell at Salia?"
"No. Men do not roar. Women roar.Then they hurl heavy objects. And claw at you."
"What does the man do?"
"He reads love poetry. He ducks a lot."

Promoted to lieutenant. Meets Guinan and is introduced to his favorite drink, prune juice. Reunites with brother Kurn, who asks to challenge family dishonor. Joins Picard and Kurn to discover truth of Khitomer massacre. Accepts discommendation to avoid civil war. Is killed, and revived, by John Doe.

Meets his son, Alexander, for the first time. Kills Duras in claiming revenge on the death of K'Ehleyr. Resigns from Starfleet to assist the forces of Gowron against the forces of the Duras family in the Klingon Civil War.

Returns to Starfleet. Delivers O'Brien's first child, Molly. Shatters first backbone, and is later declared dead during a replacement procedure, until redundant heart activates. Takes son Alexander into his care.

Helps Nikolai save the population of Boraal II to relocate them to Vacca VI. Travels accidentally between various quantum realities, upon his return asks Deanna Troi to be Soh-chim to his son, then begins a romance with the Counselor.

Worf was played by Michael Dorn throughout his time on TNG and DS9, and in all four TNG movies. In addition, he also appeared prominently in the game Star Trek: Armada. Due to his appearances as a regular in eleven seasons (seven in TNG and four in DS9) and four movies, the character Worf holds the record of the most appearances in Star Trek.

Worf also holds the record for the most revivals in Star Trek. He was killed three times in the episodes "Hide and Q", "Transfigurations", and "Ethics", each time recovering. However, Kathryn Janeway has the record for the most "deaths" at nine.

Michael Dorn recalled his audition as follows: "I did not wear makeup, but I took on the psychological guise of a Klingon. I walked into Paramount in character. No jokes. No laughing with the other actors. I sat by myself waiting for my interview. When my turn came, I walked in, didn't smile, did the reading, thanked them, and walked right out." (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion 2nd ed., p. 20)

Rick Berman recalled that Worf was intended to be merely a recurring character in seven of the first thirteen episodes. Worf's role was expanded after filming and editing of "Encounter at Farpoint" began as the producers felt that the character had presence. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion 2nd ed., p. 20)

Worf's originally planned backstory, in the "TNG Bible", was that he had been on a Klingon ship in one of the last Earth-Klingon battles; and had been rescued by Starfleet, at the age of 8. The episode "Heart of Glory" established the slightly different backstory involving the sneak Romulan attack on Khitomer.

In his online review of "Hide and Q", Wil Wheaton made a comment on Worf's early character and giving Dorn respect for playing Worf as he was back then. Wheaton said he couldn't imagine what it must have been like for Dorn in that first season, describing first season Worf as "one-dimensional and so incredibly stupid." Wheaton also noted that Dorn didn't do much more than Denise Crosby did in those early episodes, and in contrast to Crosby, who quit the show out of frustration, Dorn stayed with it, and over time was allowed to develop Worf into a much more complex and beloved character, eventually becoming a regular on DS9, and also being in all the TNG movies. [3]

Worf's ridge patterns evolved due to experimentation by Michael Westmore, mainly for aesthetics, but also to be more comfortable for the actor. While the prosthetics initially took two and a half hours to apply each time, by the end of TNG the process was shortened to about two hours. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion 2nd ed., pp. 21, 66)

Gene Roddenberry had initially insisted that Worf have a short hairstyle so as to reflect the "no-nonsense" military look of Starfleet. While Westmore accepted this, it grew somewhat longer over the years. In the sixth season of TNG, due to lobbying from Dorn and hairstylist Joy Zapata, Worf debuted a ponytail (beginning from "Face of the Enemy"). Zapata explained, "[Worf's hair] used to remind me of a Klingon that had gone to the beauty salon; it looked like Donna Reed! Now we tie it back, [Dorn] carries himself differently – he's a whole different person". (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion 2nd ed., pp. 21, 234-235)

As part of several sweeping changes for Deep Space Nine's fourth season, Worf was added to the regular cast list as the station's strategic operations officer, a position he held until the end. Worf's posting aboard DS9 was commented on in the first draft script of VOY: "Death Wish", in which Q referred to Worf as having been one candidate who Q believed might have been promoted to command the USS Voyager. Q then added, "Oh that's right, they sent him to try to fix that dreary space station, didn't they..."

When asked why he returned to Star Trek, actor Michael Dorn stated, "What interested me was the idea that my character, and I always loved my character, I really was close with him, the idea that my character would grow even more, and that I would become a larger part of the Star Trek universe than I already was, that's what interested me. And I told the producers, and we had many discussions about that that's what attracted me back." (Crew Dossier: Worf, DS9 Season 4 DVD special features)

Ira Behr, Deep Space Nine's executive producer, said that fitting Worf into the show was one of the biggest challenges he had to face during the show's run. However, he felt he had managed this task well. He remarked, "Obviously, one of the reasons Worf was brought on the show was to increase the ratings. After all, they call it show "business". But if we did not feel that Worf would've brought something to the party, we never would've done it. Sometimes business decisions and artistic decisions can ride the same wave." (AOL chat,1997)

Similarly, as Behr's writing partner Robert Hewitt Wolfe states, "In the beginning it was difficult, I gotta be honest with you, to integrate this new character, but that was good because it challenged us, and made us sort of re-examine the show in a whole new light. How do we make this guy work? How do we bring him in? How does he change the relationships for all of our characters? He stirred up the whole thing again, gave the whole show sort of a second phase, or a second stage rocket. Suddenly, there's Worf and we've got to deal with him and his issues, and suddenly there's Klingons everywhere and that brought a new favor to play with." (Charting New Territory: Deep Space Nine Season Four, DS9 Season 4 DVD special features)

The decision to have Worf transfer from security to command was Ronald D. Moore's, and was prompted by the fact that the writers didn't simply want to rehash the Next Generation Worf, they wanted to give to the audience a new Worf. As Moore explains, the writers asked themselves, "What is going to make our Worf a little different from the other Worf, and make it worth watching week after week?" Ira Steven Behr further explains, "We had to give the audience a Deep Space Nine Worf. We had to move the character away from where he was before. All the characters on DS9 grow, and we always try to take them farther than where they began." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, p. 260)

Ronald D. Moore has also commented, "I've been happy to see the changes in the character since he was brought onto DS9 – I think we ran the danger of "de-fanging" Worf by the end of TNG and there's been a concerted effort made to roughen him up and give him some sharper edges. He's more likely to err now, more likely to do the wrong thing for the wrong reason... I think that makes him more interesting as a character and more compelling to write for." (AOL chat,1997)

Michael Dorn summates his portrayal of Worf by saying, "Only time will tell, in a way, you know what I mean, what my contribution is. If anything, I'd like to think that I took a character that was not a major character to start with and brought him into the light. It's sort of like one of those things where it's not so much that 'Oh yeah, the star, I have to be the star' and dadada, but the character was not a major character, he was there, but he wasn't a major character. And I was able to bring whatever it is I brought to the character to put him closer to the forefront. I think it kind of bears up because, you know, out of all the people they got to go on Deep Space, who knows? But the character played well on the show, and helped the show over the years. If I had to be remembered for something, that'd be it." (Crew Dossier: Worf, DS9 Season 4 DVD special features)

Worf's somewhat ill-defined role in the initial stages of the series is explained in The Buried Age as being the "chief bridge watch officer" whose duties were to essentially fill in where needed, which allowed him to gain command experience. According to the novel, Worf had put in for security but Picard refused, saying that he needed more experience which would give him more opportunities later on. When Worf says he will do his best to learn all he can, Picard tells him he will be expected to learn all he can.

The novel A Time for War, A Time for Peace established that Worf decided after various events had occurred, that he was not of the right temperament to be the Federation ambassador and although the new Federation president disagreed, she accepted his resignation. Worf then nominated his son Alexander, to be his replacement as Ambassador. Worf decided that after serving the Klingon Empire and the Federation and always doing what was expected of him that the time had come for him to be selfish and he wanted to go back to Starfleet, where he felt the most fulfilled. Admiral Ross immediately reinstated his rank of lt. commander and assigned him to be first officer on the Titan under Captain Riker. Worf was filling in at the tactical station during the events of Star Trek Nemesis as the Enterprise's chief of security, Christine Vale, had taken shore leave on Earth and the second in command of security had recently resigned. After the events of Nemesis, in the wake of Data's death, Picard asked Worf to remain aboard the Enterprise and Worf agreed. Novels set after Nemesis, such as Resistance, Before Dishonor, Q&A, and Greater than the Sum, showed Worf serving as acting first officer and then initially refusing the position on a permanent basis. Worf felt that he did not deserve it after what happened back on Soukara and how he abandoned the mission to save Jadzia. After rescuing Picard from the Borg and receiving some sage advice from Dr. Crusher, Worf accepted the position on a permanent basis and was promoted to the rank of commander.

In the Playstation game Star Trek: Invasion, Worf was put in command of the Typhon from early to mid-2376. After the Valkyrie Squadron was put on active duty, Worf left the Typhon.

In Star Trek Online, Worf has remained ambassador to Qo'noS and remains one of the few pro-Federation voices in the Empire after the breakdown of the Khitomer Accords. He weds Grilka and they have one son. In describing her to reporter Jake Sisko, he echoes his previous comments on her, saying "She is glorious." He later denounces the Federation when they refuse to help the Klingons fight an Alpha Quadrant infiltration of Species 8472. Players interact with him early on in the Klingon faction storyline, and during the special event celebrating the 25th anniversary of Star Trek: The Next Generation from July 19 to 24, 2012 could meet a hologram of Worf as he appeared in 2364. The player also fights alongside him in the cross-faction mission "Sphere of Influence", and starting with that mission Michael Dorn provides voiceovers for all the character's lines.